Fratricidal Jihadists: Why Islamists Keep Losing Their Civil Wars
Loading...
Authors
Hafez, Mohammed M.
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2018
Date
Summer 2018
Publisher
Middle East Policy Council
Language
Abstract
Why do Islamists kill each other? In the last three decades, Islamist rebels enmeshed in civil wars have descended into internecine con icts that divided their ranks, alienated their sup- porters, and cost them their bid for power. From the Armed Islamic Group in Algeria, to al-Qaeda in Iraq, to the Islamic State, each of these movements had perfect op- portunities to topple their regimes. Yet, in the midst of civil wars, they turned their guns on fellow rebels, choosing to pursue hegemonic leadership over coalition unity. In fact, they assisted incumbent elites in crisis by handing them the perfect oppor- tunity to divide and conquer their move- ments. What explains this self-defeating behavior?
Type
Article
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
14 p.
Citation
Hafez, Mohammed. “Fratricidal Jihadists: Why Islamists Keep Losing Their Civil Wars.” Middle East Policy XXV, No. 2 (2018): 86-99.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.